A knitted article consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. Stitches in a row of a knitted article are linked vertically to stitches above and below each row. As each row is created, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop to link the rows. The active loops are held on a knitting needle until a new loop is pulled through them and they are linked to the previous row. In knitting, dropping a stitch occurs when a stitch is inadvertently released from one of the knitting needles without being properly attached to the next row. A dropped stitch will progress down through the knitted article resulting in a series of horizontal ladder rungs filling the gap where the stitch was dropped. In order to repair a dropped stitch in a knitted article it is necessary to locate the last remaining intact loop of the dropped stitch and properly attach the intact loop to the subsequent row of the knitted article thereby recovering the dropped stitch on that row. This process must be repeated until the dropped stitch is properly attached to each of the subsequent rows and the stitch that was inadvertently released is placed back onto the knitting needle.
Various methods are known in the art for repairing a dropped stitch, or other knitting mistake, in a knitted article. One prior art method utilizes a single device, such as a crochet hook, knitting needle or finger, to reattach the dropped loop to the subsequent row in the knitted article. However, when using a single device to repair a garter stitch comprising a combination of both knit stitches and purl stitches, after the knit stitch is recovered from the front side of the article, the recovered knit stitch must be released from the crochet hook to recover the next purl stitch from the opposite side of the article. After releasing the recovered knit stitch from the device, recovering the purl stitch can be accomplished by either pulling the purl stitch through the released knit stitch from the back side of the article or by turning the article over and then pulling the purl stitch through the released knit stitch from the front side of the article. With this method the stitch must be released between recovering a knit stitch and a purl stitch, which greatly increases the chance that the stitch will be dropped again. Releasing the knit stitch from the crochet hook, holding onto the loop of the knit stitch and then reinserting the crochet hook into the loop to repair the purl stitch often results in distortion and uneven stitches in the knitted article. Additionally, turning the article over each time to recover the next stitch greatly increases the time necessary to make the repair. Alternatively, two devices, such as two crochet hooks, a crochet hook and a knitting needle, etc. could be used to recover the alternating knit and purl stitches by passing the recovered stitch from one device to the other device. With this method it is not necessary to turn the article over each time to recover the next stitch, but the stitch must be passed between the two devices which are placed on opposite sides of the article. As such, the recovered stitch must be released from one device and transferred to another device to recover the next stitch. Manipulating the two devices simultaneously is difficult to accomplish and transferring the stitch between the two devices often results in another dropped stitch. Additionally, when passing the stitch from one device to the other it is easy to accidentally pick up additional rows of the knitted article and inadvertently create twisted stitches or other undesirable effects. When utilizing two devices to repair the article, the devices must be properly matched to create stitches that are similarly sized. In addition, even if the two devices are substantially similar in size, passing the stitches from one device to the other inadvertently results in distortion of the stitches as the size and shape of the stitch are altered during the transfer. Uneven stitches are an undesirable result of utilizing two different devices to repair a knitted article.
Crochet hooks having a hook on both ends are known in the art. Such double-ended crochet hooks are used for two-sided crocheting commonly referred to as an Afghan stitch. Double-sided crochet hooks known in the art are commonly ten or fourteen inches in length. In creating an Afghan stitch, the length of the double-ended crochet hook used is necessary to retain the stitches on the hook while crocheting back across the article. Double-ended crochet hooks have not been previously used in the art to repair a knitted article. The design of double-ended crochet hooks known in the art, having a length of at least ten inches, are cumbersome to handle in attempting to repair a knitted article. Additionally, the necessary length of the double-ended crochet hooks increases their weight. The additional weight of the hooks makes them awkward for use in the repair of a knitted article. The relatively long length and relatively heavy weight of the double-ended crochet hooks known in the art renders such a device impractical and inefficient for the repair of a knitted article. As such, double-ended crochet hooks known in the art cannot be reasonably used for repairing a knitted article.
There is an unmet need in the art for a device for repairing a dropped stitch in a knitted article that does not require releasing a previously recovered stitch from the device prior to recovering the next stitch.
There is an unmet need in the art for a device for repairing a dropped stitch in a knitted article that does not require rotating the knitted article 180° after recovering a first stitch in order to recover the next stitch.
Thus, there is a need for an improved device and method for efficiently repairing a knitted article. In particular, there is a need in the art for a device and method for repairing a knitted article that does not require the use of two independent repair devices or require that the stitch being repaired be released from a repair device to recover the next stitch to complete the repair. Additionally, there is a need in the art for a device and method for repairing a knitted article that does not require turning the knitted article to accomplish the repair.
There is a need in the art for a method of repair that will allow the knitter to follow a complicated pattern and make repairs from the front side of a knitted fabric keeping the right side of the fabric on the top to follow the pattern and execute the stitches necessary to accomplish the repair.